Anthony's camp reportedly reached out to the Lakers' front office to assess the possibility of the 10-time All-Star joining his fellow 2003 draftee and "Banana Boat" crewmate, but the interest was not mutual.

For his part, James has not petitioned Lakers president Magic Johnson nor general manager Rob Pelinka to bring Anthony into the fold, according to the initial report by The Athletic's Joe Vardon.

Despite leaving the Houston Rockets, the 34-year-old remains on the roster, and has not appeared in a game since Nov. 8. Signing as a free agent this offseason, Houston is unable to trade him until Dec. 15. If they were to waive Anthony, all other teams (except the Atlanta Hawks and Oklahoma City Thunder) would be able to claim him off waivers.

In 10 appearances prior to his departure, Anthony had averaged 13.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.